Lawrence T. Brooke, lawyers in Alexandria, VA, Virginia

COMMUTATION OF SENTENCE

A commutation of sentence is the reduction of a defendant's sentence by a state's governor. It is a form of clemency. A commutation does not remove any legal disabilities of the defendant's conviction. It only has the effect of reducing the defendant's original sentence. A commutation has no effect on the defendant's guilt.More...

Revocation of Probation

A defendant's probation may be revoked by a trial judge if the defendant violates any of the terms or conditions of his or her probation. Only the trial judge that granted probation to the defendant has authority to revoke the defendant's probation. More...

POSSESSION OF GAMBLING PARAPHERNALIA

A person commits the offense of possession of gambling paraphernalia when he or she, with the intent to further gambling, knowingly owns, manufactures, transfers, or possesses any gambling device, any altered gambling equipment, or any gambling paraphernalia with the knowledge that the device, the equipment, or the paraphernalia was designed for gambling. More...

Judicial Notice

Judicial notice is the knowledge or recognition that a fact is true without evidence to support its truth. An example of a fact that a court may take judicial notice of is that the sky is blue. Most people know and understand that the sky is blue and no proof is needed to establish that the sky is blue. More...

CONCURRENT & CONSECUTIVE SENTENCES

A trial court generally has the power to determine whether a defendant's sentences for multiple offenses will be concurrent or whether they will be consecutive or cumulative. However, there are limitations on the trial court's power. Such limitations include whether the offenses arose from the same criminal episode, the type of the offenses, and whether the defendant committed the offenses while he or she was incarcerated. More...